UN: Russia is holding more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians
Russia, the aggressor state, is holding more than 16,000 civilians captured during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Many of them are being held without contact with the outside world and on grounds that violate international law, said Claudia Fuentes Julio, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, at an informal meeting of the UN Security Council.
The meeting, convened by Latvia and the United Kingdom, focused on the situation of civilians and military personnel being held captive during the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to Fuentes Julio, torture and ill-treatment by Russia against Ukrainian civilian detainees and prisoners of war are widespread and systematic, including sexual violence.
Since the start of the invasion, UN human rights staff have interviewed 910 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 403 civilian detainees following their release. More than 95% of the prisoners of war and 85% of the civilians interviewed reported torture or ill-treatment, often on multiple occasions. They also reported sexual violence, deprivation of food, inadequate conditions of detention, and insufficient medical care.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva documented the executions of 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war at the beginning of their captivity, as well as the deaths of 48 military personnel while in custody. According to Julio Fuentes, the causes of death were torture, denial of medical care, or other inhumane conditions of detention.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
The UN does not have permission to visit Russian detention facilities, so its estimate of the number of detainees does not include separate data on adults and children. Former captives also spoke at the meeting: Crimean Tatar human rights activist Leniye Umerova and Ukrainian soldier Juan Leyva García. Garcia, who was at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and surrendered to Russian forces in May 2022, spent 1,183 days in captivity.
Julio Fuentes also reported that UN experts interviewed 816 Russians and 57 prisoners of war from third countries—representatives of more than 45 states who served in the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. About half of them reported torture or ill-treatment, primarily during the early stages of their captivity and interrogations. At the same time, UN monitors noted that upon arrival at Ukrainian detention facilities, conditions generally comply with international humanitarian law and have improved since 2022.
Maria Zabolotskaya, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, claimed that the Russian armed forces allegedly comply with international humanitarian law and accused Ukraine of mistreating Russian prisoners of war. Vladimir Pavlichenko, Ukraine’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, stated that Russia is not ready to discuss the return of prisoners of war, all civilian detainees, and abducted children.
